Latest market data

Stock search

From restaurants to plumbers to corner retail stores, local small
companies can see a nice increase in business if they receive
positive
recommendations on popular user-review sites like Yelp. But what
happens when a business gets a negative review? Or several? Bad
user reviews are like a smudge on a business's
reputation, showing up when potential customers search
online.

Yelp relies on an algorithm that determines which reviews will be
displayed on a business's page on the site. Even when a review is
flagged by Yelp's software, it's simply
moved to a "filtered" section on the business's page where
readers can still view it. The problem is, a number of
legitimate reviews wind up in this filtered section, and
negative reviews that business owners think have been deleted
actually have only been relocated here.

While it's unlikely any automated review process will be perfect,
business owners should know what options they have for dealing
with not-so-nice comments. We interviewed Darnell Holloway,
Yelp's manager of local business outreach, who offered these
three steps for handling negative user reviews on the site:

1. Keep your cool: When deciding how to handle a
review, avoid a virtual screaming match, even if a review is
completely wrong or even just off base. "When deciding how to
handle the review, we suggest thinking about what your customer
service policies are for face-to-face interactions and applying
that same logic to your written response," Holloway says.

If you find yourself too emotional to calmly address online
reviews, Holloway suggests appointing an office manager or
another employee you trust to manage them. If you think a review
violates Yelp's terms of service you can flag it
for evaluation by Yelp's user support team.

2. Respond diplomatically: When you do respond
to an online review -- negative or positive -- be civil and
professional, and make sure to offer a solution when appropriate.
Using Yelp's free review response tools, businesses can
respond publicly or privately. A private message is similar to
sending a personal email directly to the reviewer. A public
comment posts directly under a user's review and is visible to
any Yelp user.

"[Responding publicly] is a great route to take when you want to
shed more light on a situation, or demonstrate that some action
has been taken to address the reviewer's feedback," Holloway
says.

3. Be consistent: Actively reading and
responding to user reviews can accomplish at least two important
things. First, it can provide insight into how your product or
service resonates with customers, as well as ideas for how you
can do better. Second, it can show users that you care and are
engaged.

"You won't hear back from every person you reach out to, and
that's OK," Holloway says. "If you regularly implement feedback
from your reviews, and engage diplomatically with your customers,
you will be in a much better position over the long term."